Unemployment rose in 84 of North Carolina’s 100 counties in June, according to new figures released Friday by the state Division of Employment Security.

While the number of people employed increased by 12,294 last month (not seasonally adjusted), those gains were erased by an increase in those who were unemployed (22,088.)

Another concern for those who watch the state’s employment outlook closely is where the jobs are and aren’t being created.

88% of the 1.5 million jobs created in North Carolina since June 2009 were generated in the state’s metro areas. And 83% of the jobs created in the metro areas were concentrated in just three regions, underscoring North Carolina’s uneven recovery.

“While our short-term labor market trends are certainly troubling, the longer-term concern for North Carolina is the wide disparities in job growth across the state,” said Allan Freyer, Policy Analyst with the N.C. Budget & Tax Center, a project of the North Carolina Justice Center. “Since the end of the Great Recession three years ago, the Triangle, Triad, and Charlotte have experienced significantly better job growth than the rest of the state. Perhaps even more importantly, the metros in these three regions alone account for 83% of the state’s metro-area job growth.”

“Local unemployment rates fell across much of North Carolina over the past year, yet local labor markets remain distressed,” said John Quinterno with South by North Strategies, a research firm specializing in economic policy. “Unemployment rates remain elevated, and nearly 500,000 North Carolinians are unemployed. For North Carolinians who want and need jobs, conditions simply are not improving fast enough.”

One bright spot in the latest data is that compared to June 2011, unemployment rates were lower in 91 counties and in all 14 metro areas.

david esmay

Alex

July 27, 2012 at 9:02 pm

Fact check : Worse GDP growth in the history of all American recoveries. !.5 % is so paltry, it will not sustain any economic growth, and will not even generate enough jobs to cover the new people entering the economy! Guys, there is no way to sugarcoat this awful economy- 15 million people still looking for work, and we are heading into another recession.

You said GDP was down, but it’s actually up. And, it is nowhere near the worst GDP growth rate. There is no sugar on earth that could sweeten your partisan vitriol, or compensate for your blatant lies.

Alex

July 28, 2012 at 1:34 pm

Jim Pethokoukis of the American Enterprise Institute has two compelling charts. The first shows that we are in “nominal growth in GDP” territory. In other words, with flat economic growth, inflation and population growth mean we are essentially contracting. The second chart compares the Reagan recovery with the Obama non-recovery. He explains:

Earlier this year, the Obama White House predicted the economy would grow 3% in 2012. Today’s GDP report shows that ain’t going to happen. The Commerce Department said the economy grew at an anemic 1.5% annual rate from April through June, after a revised 2.0% in the first quarter. It now seems likely the economy will be lucky to grow at 2% for the entire year. And that’s after growing just 1.8% last year.

Indeed, research from the Federal Reserve finds that that since 1947, when year-over-year real GDP growth falls below 2 percent, recession follows within a year 70% of the time. The U.S. economy remains in the Recession Red Zone.

The new data also show just how weak the Obama recovery has been, expanding at an annual average pace of just 2.2% vs. 5.7% for the Reagan recovery.

In addition, the GDP report shows the Obama administration has continually and wildly overestimated the positive impact of its economic policies, including the $800 billion stimulus plan.This is from a Washington Post article so don’t say this is a conservative blog. If you want to blindly follow a President who is driving us into a brick wall, then there is little hope for you ever understanding this.

Oh, my mistake, GDP was just 0.1% for Bush 2002 4th Quarter when his recession had ended a year earlier.

Frank Burns

July 28, 2012 at 2:53 pm

Interesting how the left keeps going back to Bush, I guess I can’t blame them when their guy is doing a poor job. If you look at the DNC website, it’s all about Romney. There isn’t much to brag about with Obama.

Frank, you don’t even believe the President is a US citizen. If he really did walk on water you’d say he was offending dry land.

Frank Burns

July 28, 2012 at 4:35 pm

Greg, I don’t know, law enforcement in Arizona has determined that the birth certificate posted on line by Obama is a fraud. We need to just let the legal system take its course. Obama had all the opportunities in the world to do a good job, but he failed. I recommend that he enroll in a leadership course which will benefit him in his future endeavors.

david esmay

July 29, 2012 at 3:47 pm

Frank, you are insane, really, bat shit crazy.

Doug

July 30, 2012 at 8:38 am

People have wondered the same thing about you david ! Funny that insanity feels normal to an insane person.